I have another question. The teacher mentioned that her reading ability/level would be higher on the DRA level if she could accurately retell the story (in the correct order that it happened). I guess in DRA they have to do this in order to move to a higher level and the teacher said it is something dd needs to work on. At home she reads at nearly a 3rd grade level but I just ask her questions about the book she read, I don't ask her to recall in order what happened in the book.
Would this have anything to do with her difficulty in writing? Organizing her thoughts? Just a thought I had.
I am not sure if my DS had DRA levels, but I do recall that he didn't always get the retells in the correct order when tested in kindy. I remember thinking at the time that it was odd that he would miss anything in reading/comprehension, because he had shown high ability at home. Then someone mentioned that the stories that they are testing on at the early levels are so simplistic, and not too exciting, I wouldn't be surprised if a child's mind wandered when listening to it. It might be interesting for you to try at home, to see if her recall is better with more engaging material.
Not sure if/how that has anything to do with difficulty in writing. As for writing for us, DS7 has always hated it. He's a grade-skipped 3rd grader, and probably handwrites at the lower end of age level. He doesn't like to bother with leaving a space between words either, so it makes it fun for all to try to decipher.
I did notice that when he really tries, he can write very neatly, and much more so this year, so I do think there is a developmental component to it. He also can write much more (and with much more creativity) if he's typing, though he is the type of kid who will do the bare minimum whenever possible.
DS's class is learning cursive this year, and DS's cursive is so much more readable than his printing. I think it helps when he keeps his pencil to paper more in cursive.
